Miniatures make big display

Extensive ceramic village collection creates tiny community in living room.

Extensive ceramic village collection creates tiny community in living room.

December 27, 2005|JULIE FERRARO Tribune Correspondent

The Goodyear blimp soars over the football field, while cars await the feature movie at the Stardust Drive-In Theater. The Krispy Kreme doughnut shop looks like it's doing good business, too. All in miniature, the buildings are part of Karen Hart's collection of Department 56 Snow Village in her home. Every year, she and her family spend the weekend after Thanksgiving unpacking and setting up the extensive display, which creates a city all its own in the middle of the living room. Karen's enthusiasm for the miniatures started nearly 15 years ago, when a friend from high school gave her a Queen Anne Victorian house. Since then, her husband, Jim, has added a couple each year, and other friends and employers have given them to her as gifts. "They're easy Christmas gifts," Karen quipped. "You don't have to worry about sizes." When one New Carlisle store was going out of business, the Department 56 line was being offered at 50 percent off the regular price. Karen indulged and augmented the collection even more. "I get three or four a year, typically," with Department 56 issuing eight new pieces each year. The majority of the collection is meticulously arranged on what Karen calls "stadium seating." The three tiers feature hidden electrical wiring, so the pieces which move or light up can be plugged in easily. "It's pretty at night," when the tiny lights glow through the windows, Karen grinned. Set along one of the roads is an old-style McDonald's restaurant. Karen fondly remembers the days when the McDonald's on North Michigan Street boasted the golden arches built into the structure, like the miniature. It is one of her favorite pieces, along with a church, which occupies a central place on the lower tier. Karen has noticed, in recent years, how the pieces have become more detailed. Getting up close and looking inside the small windows, it is possible to see the interiors of the houses and other structures, which makes the experience even more enjoyable. On the other side of the home's fireplace -- this year, at any rate -- are the mountains, hills, woods and farm arrangements. "Usually, that's in the dining room," Karen admitted. Spread out on tiers of various heights, one house features a small train that moves on a magnetic track. Inside a realistic fence, barnyard animals seem to graze on tiny blades of grass. Nearly 25 pieces from the collection weren't set out this year. They combine to create what Karen calls "North Liberty," a smaller village, offset from the main "city." The display is a big draw for holiday parties held at the Hart's home in Knollwood West in Clay Township. Daughter Kaitlyn has invited classmates from St. Joseph's High School to hold their gift exchange in the shadow of the collection. Holiday parties sponsored by Karen's employer are a tradition in the home, too. "One year, I tried not putting it up," Karen stated of the collection. Kaitlyn insisted, though, so Jim and son Kevin did the "heavy work" of carrying the boxes down from the attic. "It takes two to three days to put up," remarked Karen, and the same amount of time to put it away at the end of the holidays. "It's not as much fun to take down." This year, Kevin took time to teach his younger brother, Sean, how to handle the boxes and help their mother. That's because Kevin will be away at college next year. Karen doesn't really worry about the pieces being broken, either. From the earliest days, youngest daughter Brianna knew not to touch the display. Visitors young and old instinctively know the small replicas of a bowling alley or diner aren't toys. "I keep saying I'm not going to add to the collection, but the new ones come out, and I can't help myself," she said.